Replica of Truth
by Axiome
Summary: Naruto's committed suicide. Sasuke is devastated. After Naruto's funeral, Sasuke finds Naruto suicide note. Except there are some strange things about it. A long time ago, Naruto brought Sasuke back. Now it's his turn.
1. Dying Star

**R E A D T H I S !**

This is a shonen-ai story with the possibility of yaoi in later chapters, if you don't like, **don't read.**

Summary: Naruto's committed suicide. Sasuke is devastated. After Naruto's funeral, Sasuke finds Naruto suicide note. Except there are some strange things about it. A long time ago, Naruto brought Sasuke back. Now it's his turn.

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**Replica of Truth**  
_... a naruto fanfiction ...  
_

_**C H A P T E R O N E :**  
"Dying Star"**  
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Sasuke Uchiha ran the moment he felt something extremely wrong. Sasuke was currently ending a mission and on his way back to Konoha to give his mission report to the Hokage, Tsunade, who was getting older and almost ready to pick her successor. But something was terribly wrong. Sasuke had never felt this, not in a long time. It was the same feeling he had when his family was massacred. So he ran, adrenaline pumping through his veins even though he was physically exhausted from the mission assigned to said man.

Tress whipped Sasuke's face and blood poured from his cheeks from carelessness, and he kept going as a full speed sprint all the way to the Hokage's. He burst into her office and she appeared startled, exclaiming, "Sasuke? I wasn't expecting you here for another hour. What's wrong?"

Tsunade saw the blood on Sasuke's cheeks and only thought of it as a tough mission. But the raven-haired man looked almost frantic, his eyes darting around everything looking for a danger unseen to Tsunade. He only looked troubled at her response and replied, "No, nothing's wrong… it's just—never mind. I'm going home."

Before Tsunade could say anything, her most skilled AnBu officer was gone.

Even after seeing Tsunade perfectly calm with no sign of any crisis, Sasuke still had a terrible feeling lying in his gut. Tsunade didn't look bothered, upset, or anything else that might've have said something was wrong while he was gone. He thought of what to do, and the only thing that popped into his mind, and it seemed like his only option, was to visit Naruto. Though he would never admit it, the golden-haired always brightened up his mood considerably, even if he never showed. Not much, at least.

Sasuke took his time to Naruto's. Strangely, the thought of Naruto made him happier, but the closer he got, the bigger the dreaded feeling grew. He saw Naruto's steps and with each step he took, the heavier he felt. It was scaring him.

When he reached the door and touched the doorknob, Sasuke realized that he had been sweating. His hands were clammy and he could not stop his beating heart. He turned the knob and was faced with the worst thing he'd ever seen in his life. Even worse than when his family was brutally murdered by own blood brother.

There was Naruto, the sunny fox-faced dobe, slouched over at his kitchen table, a kunai gauged deep into his wrist. His chakra held no pulse. Maybe that's why he had a felt it before he saw it. He couldn't feel Naruto's chakra at all, something Sasuke just noticed.

This isn't Naruto, Sasuke thought. Naruto wouldn't do anything like this. No, he wouldn't. He couldn't. Never.

Yet there he was. Lying dead in the perfect suicide. Sasuke walked over to the corpse, his breath was shaky and he felt his heart drop as he saw the dobe's face. It looked as if the dobe had tried to rid himself of his whisker-like scars before he killed himself. Sasuke's

Uchiha pride was still intact and he fought with himself to keep the unshed tears back to where they were. Why would Naruto do such a thing? He'd never said a thing about his whiskers, if anything, he seemed almost proud about them.

Sasuke touched Naruto's cold hand that had long since frozen and Sasuke guessed he'd been dead for close to 24 hours. He hated Naruto. He hated Naruto for doing this to himself and to Sasuke. Sasuke loved Naruto. He didn't understand in which way he loved him, but he knew he did. But now everyone he'd ever loved was gone, and Sasuke was alone once again. It had been such a long time since Sasuke was a lone. When Naruto came a long, he brightened Sasuke's world with a warm light, keeping him alive and content. The warmth was rudely taken away and left Sasuke cold and in a harsh solitary reality.

Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. Seeing his dobe like this was just wrong. One single tear slipped out of his eye and he banged his fist against the table, "Damnit dobe. Why'd you have to do this?" His question remained unanswered in the quiet room.

Albeit unsure to do, Sasuke began to think. What do you do when your best friends dies? Sasuke's first thought was to die along with him, but he was being rational. He decided to go inform Tsunade that the boy who was like her grandson had died. He ran to the Hokage's office, gliding through the night's shadows, through the home he knew by heart.

When Sasuke got to Tsunade, he wasn't particularly surprised to see the Hokage with a sake bottle in her hand, looking tired and weary, but definitely not old since she still had the jutsu that made her appear younger. But she snapped out of her drowsiness the moment she saw Sasuke, breathing hard and looking the most emotional she's ever seen him. His eyes had a forlorn stare and his chakra was the opposite it usually was, it was all over the place and controlled by feelings.

He wasted no time and he didn't save any elegance for the next thing he was about to say, it was plain and blunt and the most painful way to say such a thing.

"Naruto's dead."

It hit Tsunade like one of her own punches. It crashed right into her heart and all through her body. The first image her mind showed was a grinning face filled with happiness. But now that was gone. "What did you say Sasuke?"

"Naruto's… Naruto's dead…" The words tasted foreign in Sasuke mouth. It was the truth. Naruto was dead. Suddenly Sasuke really realized death. He'd felt it before, it was all coming back. The bitterness of losing his beloved family came back like a hard slap. He knew it; he just couldn't believe it. He couldn't accept it. A feeling of despair began to sink in.

Tsunade was now starting to feel anger. Angrier than she'd ever felt in her life. Even angrier than when her old friend had peeped in on the women's bathhouse. She had to find out. "Who did this?" Yes, who did this? Who would kill the cheerful man who held no hate for anyone? Tsunade was going to kill them. She would torture them until they were more than half to death, and then she would heal them. And then she would torture them again but worse, she would drive them to insanity and starve them and then—"He did it to himself."

Her anger died out and was replaced with the same look Sasuke had in his eyes. Her tiredness had returned. He'd killed himself. The cheerful, sunny man had killed himself. "I would like to tell only his closest friends right away. It's only right if they know." Tsunade decided to send each of them a bird telling them to pay a visit to the Hokage's office for an urgent meeting. It would be harsh to tell them that the man had committed suicide through a little note.

Shizune was waiting outside of her Hokage's office, waiting for the Uchiha to finish talking with her. The man had seemed pretty rushed when he pushed her out of the way and forced himself into the office, so Shizune was expecting something big to be happened. She heard her name being called and she entered the office, "Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

"I would like you to send a bird to everyone in Rookie 9, Iruka Umino and Maito Guy's team. Tell them to come to my office immediately and not to waste any time, the second they get the letter, I do not care if they are sleeping or doing God knows what, they are to report to my office." Tsunade's urgency and teary eyes shocked Shizune, though she didn't waste any time as she hastily got the letters written up to all of the people of Rookie 9, Iruka and Gai's team.

In less than one minute, Gai came hurdling through the window, "Did I make it here in less than a minute?" He sensed the mood and looked concerned, "What's the matter my youthful, and un-youthful friend?" Tsunade was too tired to get mad at Gai, so he would live another day.

"Wait till everyone's here. I'll tell you then."

And so they waited. Hinata quietly walked in, looking like she got out of bed right after she read the letter, Rock Lee was next, then Shikamaru, Sakura, Neji and Ten Ten walked in, claiming they found each other on the way, Shino, Kiba, Iruka, Ino, Kurenai, Choji and last, like always, was the infamous copy-ninja, Kakashi.

Everyone was shuffling around the room, whispering amongst themselves. Why were they all gathered? Where was Naruto? Why did Sasuke look like his best friend just died? All chatter stopped and they focused on Tsunade anxiously, waiting for her to tell them the news, when she said, "May I have your attention please."

Tsunade took a shaky breath, "It is my duty and misfortune to inform you that…" everyone held their breath, "That Uzumaki Naruto is dead. He was found at his kitchen table around 12:45 AM by Sasuke Uchiha."

It didn't take long for Sakura and Ino to start crying, and Hinata cried too, but quietly, but that didn't mean she felt it less. Kiba shed a few tears in the manliest way possible, Shikamaru was at loss at what to say or think, Choji looked depressed, Iruka was sort of sniffling, Kurenai looked serious, and Kakashi looked like he'd lost his own son.

Sakura wiped her eyes, "H-how…? Naruto…"

"Naruto committed suicide."

The sentence lingered through the room and repeated into everyone's minds in disbelief. Naruto killed himself? The sunny, carefree man killed himself? Impossible. All eyes turned to Sasuke, who had spoken the surreptitious words. But when they saw the man's usually unemotional eyes digging into their hearts with sadness, they believed it.

No one knew what to say. Sasuke wished he never left for his mission. Maybe he could have saved him somehow… Sakura thought she should have known what Naruto was doing the moment he did it. Kakashi thought Naruto was acting a bit funny. He should have picked up on the strange behavior and stopped all this from happening. They blamed themselves. It was their fault for Naruto dying. What if they were able to stop him from killing himself?

Naruto had saved many people. He had saved them from themselves and from other people. His words were never forgotten and his smile was the most beautiful thing about him. It held no doubts and looked only into the future. The past was what it was, a thing that happened, something that never changed once it did. He accepted people for what they were and befriended them. He held a monster, but he was the complete opposite. But now, when Naruto had needed them the most, they had failed him. Maybe he needed someone to talk to, maybe he just wanted someone to tell him that it's okay; they'll always be there. But no one had remembered ever saying anything like that to him, it was Naruto who was always doing the consoling and cheering up. He had always been selfless in every aspect. No one had ever repaid him and he didn't look for anything in return.

Maybe that was why people never thought anything was wrong with Naruto; he always had a smile. But that didn't matter anymore.

He was dead.

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Do you want me to continue?

I've never written shonen-ai before lol.

IT'S FREAKING SHORT I KNOW IT IS T.T

**FLAME ME ALL YOU WANT. TELL ME MY UGLY FLAWS.** I need a beta reader OTL


	2. Rare Emotion

**N O T E :**

Very short chapter.

Disclaimer: No.

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**R e p l i c a o f T r u t h**  
_... a naruto fanfiction ..._

**C H A P T E R T W O :**  
_"Rare Emotion"_

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The funeral of Uzumaki Naruto brought together hundreds of people together. Possibly everyone from Konoha attended. People in Konoha who hadn't even spoken to Naruto before, but had surely seen him, went to pay their respects. Naruto had saved everyone in Konoha by Pein before, after all. They all owed their lives to him. People had been expecting many people to show up, but not as much that had. Naruto's friends never knew Naruto had known so many people.

News that Uzumaki Naruto had died spread fast. This was Naruto, the Naruto, that had killed Momoshi Zabuza with the help of his team, was under the guidance of Hatake Kakashi, he was the apprentice of the legendary Sannin Jiriya, the best friend of the last standing Uchiha in the world, his dad was Minato Namikaze, he'd stopped Akatsuki from taking over the world, and many more stories of his adventures were talked about. Everyone was just starting to realize how much Naruto had done in his short life of 21 years.

Leaders of other villages attended. People of other villages attended. People who didn't even know Naruto attended. He was a legend, just like his father.

Konoha was packed to its limits. The day of the funeral was sad but the sun was shining. Tsunade was the one who spoke first during it. "We are here today to show our respect and gratitude to a man by the name of Uzumaki Naruto. As many of you know, I was in the process of picking a successor of leader of Konoha. But I'm sure everyone in Konoha already knew who it was going to be. It was always Naruto's dream to be the leader of this village, and I felt he'd proved himself enough over the years that he was worthy and responsible enough to lead this village. He'd already risked his life many times as a ninja of Konoha. So let us celebrate his life."

Kakashi was next.

"Naruto was like my son. When he was little he was an annoying and loud. When he got older, his loudness turned into great charisma. When he was little, he was stubborn, and that turned into an unbreakable determination and a strong will that always drove him forward. As he got older, the more he reminded me of Minato. Their hair, their smiles, they were the same. They both accomplished great feats in their lives. I'm sure Minato would have been proud to have a son like Naruto."

Every one of Naruto's close friends knew how true what Kakashi just said was.

It was unexpected. Sasuke wanted to say something at the funeral too. It was a rare moment of public emotion for the Uchiha.

"I found Naruto when he was dead. It was the worst moment of my life. He was my best friend, one of my first real friends. He once told me 'it is truth that gives you proper despair, so you do not become conceited.' Of course he said it with that big idiotic smile of his. Even though he said that, I can't help but feel great pride for being his friend, or even being able to know him."

That was the most anyone other than Naruto had ever heard Sasuke speak.

Many people after that came up to speak. Sasuke's unemotional mask had returned, but he certainly didn't stop feeling like shit, even after the funeral was over

Gaara was mad. And nobody ever liked a mad Gaara. Of course he didn't show his rage, but inside he felt it, it was spouting from disbelief. Naruto wouldn't be so idiotic to commit suicide like it was nothing. He cared too much, and he would never stop caring. Gaara didn't make a speech because he was too busy (shy) and talking to Temari. But he didn't believe any of the bullshit that Naruto was dead. He saw the corpse of Naruto, but he still didn't believe it. Not one bit.

The scarlet-haired Kazekage found Sasuke sometime after funeral. Sasuke's first thought was '_woah, he looks pissed.' _But he didn't say anything. Gaara was at Sasuke's house. It was strange to Sasuke, he'd never really spoken to Gaara, it was Naruto who had been close with him. The first thing the Suna leader said was, "Naruto is not dead."

Now it was Sasuke getting mad, "What? How could you say that? I was the one who found him."

"He's not dead. He's not."

"Gaara… he is."

"No."

That's all he said, and then he left. Sasuke was confused by the sudden visit and sudden disappearance. He just took it as Gaara in shock of Naruto being dead. After all, Naruto was the one who inspired Gaara to try harder and he eventually became the Kazekage.

For a while Sasuke just sat at on his bed, thinking about his deceased best friend. He missed that dobe. He never thought he would, well, he never really thought about the fact that Naruto could die so early on in life. He missed his laugh, his stupid smile, and the way he smelled… okay that was a weird one.

Sasuke didn't even remember thinking about moving or walking or the fact that he was already halfway to Naruto's house. He realized it the moment he was hesitating at the blonde's door. He remembered the last time he was there. Sasuke opened the door and Naruto's scent made it's way to his head. A step into his apartment, and Sasuke felt like crying. Instead he took his time walking through his friend's apartment, remembering and realizing just how many times he'd been there. They'd have a drink after a hard days work there, because apparently Sasuke's apartment was too dreary and dark to have a good time in. Sasuke would go see Naruto when he was bored, and vice-versa. Though it was usually Naruto annoying Sasuke to death with his silly grin when he'd 'stop over' at 3:00 AM 'just to see how he was doing'. Sure it pissed off Sasuke then, but right now, if he was just to see Naruto, he wouldn't care if the blonde were stabbing him with a kunai, Sasuke didn't care, he just wanted to see him.

Naruto's bed was made perfectly, something that was unlike the messy guy who only had time for fun, fun and fun. And maybe eating ramen. It might have possibly been Sasuke's first time seeing Naruto's bed this neat. Strange. Sasuke was pretty sure no one had touched anything in Naruto's apartment after he… he died. It was so clean. It didn't feel like Naruto's room at all.

Maybe Sasuke was just thinking too much. That had to be it. How silly it would be for him to get uneasy about a clean room. Sighing, he laid himself down on Naruto's bed and covered his eyes with his arm. He opened his eyes to see Naruto's ceiling. It was plain white, and spotle—actually, it wasn't as spotless and Sasuke had first thought. A small square, maybe 1 inch wide and 1 inch long, was carved onto the ceiling.

Curious, Sasuke stood up on the bed, wondering why he was going at such lengths just to see what the square was. It was just a square. A square with a small scribble of words on it.

"What the hell…"

The words said 'open'.

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**READTHISREADTHISREADTHIS**

Do you want this to be a shonen-ai/yaoi fanfic…? Or just friendship? I just want your opinions. Someone said they think it should be friendship…? Please tell me what I should write it as! I are confuzzled .

SASUKE OOC MUCH? Yeah but I had to have him say something at his best friend's funeral. Otherwise he would just be a big dick. And I lurve Sasuke 333333333


	3. A New Dawn

Disclaimer: No.

**N O T E : **

Here's a longer chapter… in apology for slow updating (:

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**R e p l i c a o f T r u th**  
_... a naruto fanfiction .. ._

**C H A P T E R T H R E E :  
**_"A New Dawn"_

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_I was a monster. The only thing I could do is run away. Sorry I'm in the clouds now. For a long time I've been thinking of something. A plan. Keeping quiet all this time. Ending this for the last time._

The crumply note was in Sasuke's hands. Was this…?

"A suicide note…" Sasuke murmured to himself, staring at a simple piece of paper, but it's contents meant so much to Sasuke. It didn't make sense… did Naruto really write this? It didn't seem like something he would write as his final words. Knowing the dobe, he would write about the things he'd learned, the people he'd loved… not something so cryptic and unlike him.

Over and over gain, the words replayed in Sasuke's mind, and things didn't make sense at all. Why couldn't have that dobe said more! Sasuke began to get frustrated, eventually rolling off of Naruto's bed and stepping outside. Konoha was quiet, the sullen mood of death still drifting through the night.

Still clutching the note in his hand, Sasuke went walking aimlessly. No one was around, save for a few stray cats and hobos hiding in dark, shadowy alleys.

He continued on like this, restless and unable to stop thinking, he wasn't thinking about anything in particular, attempting to only think of things that weren't related to the blonde-haired man. But when he thought of friends, Naruto would always appear, smiling carelessly. While Sasuke was walking along the roads of Konoha he passed Ichiraku's, Sasuke's mind was flooded with memories of all the times he had been forced to eat there with him, he hated it then, but now he would do anything for what things used to be like.

For what things used to be like. The past. The past is defined as completed, finished, and no longer in existence. Thinking about what it meant depressed Sasuke, the past was something that was no longer… there. Each second that went by as Sasuke just stood there, those small moments didn't exist anymore. All the years he spent with Naruto, they didn't exist anymore. All Sasuke had was his memories, which would eventually start to fade. The thought of forgetting things about Naruto started to scare Sasuke. He wanted to remember the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, the way he scowled when Sasuke called him a dobe, and the look of sheer determination he had possessed when faced with a challenging new obstacle.

Sasuke somehow made it back to his house after walking for so long. When he looked up at the sky when he was about to enter his house, the sky was black, but the horizon was dotted yellow, the sun was slowly rising.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Two weeks had passed. There was something about Sasuke that concerned Sakura. Naruto's death had a great impact on everyone… but Sakura knew it was different for Sasuke. They had been brothers. Naruto saved Sasuke when he had abandoned the village. He never gave up on him, even when people told him to stop and move on with life. All Naruto's hard work had eventually paid off… Sasuke was back in village after some of the longest years of Naruto and Sakura's lives. But now… they needed Naruto.

_The sun beat down on two young shinobi as they trained under the merciless sun. The two were sparring, the ground around them was crushed from a certain pink-haired girl whose attacks could literally cut through rock._

_Three of Naruto's clones abruptly vanished in a puff of smoke and he exclaimed in a joking manner, "You could have killed me with that last attack, let's take a break!" _

_As they sat down under a nearby tree, a silence overtook them. Naruto was sitting, his back leaning on the tree and Sakura watched him. A drop of sweat rolled down the scars his cheek from training. Naruto was always training. To become better, faster(harder) and stronger. _

_"Naruto…" Sakura spoke up._

_Naruto turned to her and looked at her with questioning, "Yeah?"_

_"Why do you train so much?" Why does he try so much? Why does he push himself to limits so unreachable to her? _

_Naruto went silent, and had a thoughtful look on his face. Ever since Sasuke had left… "I have to. Sasuke is my friend. I have to…" At this point, Naruto was having trouble with how to word things. How could you explain something so complex with so few little words?_

_Sakura understood though, and she stayed silent, patiently waiting for the blonde to come up with the right words. _

_"To save Sasuke from his own demise." _

"Sakura! Are you alright?" Suddenly Ten Ten was in front of her instead of Naruto explaining why he had to save Sasuke so many years ago.

Sakura blinked, feeling a tear in her eye roll down to her chin. She had gotten teary from thinking about Naruto. "Yes… just thinking." She smiled at the worried brunette.

"Okay. If you ever need to talk, just tell me, alright?" Sakura nodded at her and gave her a reassuring smile, and Ten Ten continued talking, "Now, let's get this mission over with. The target…"

**xXxXxXxXxXxXx**

A terrible day. That's what Sasuke seemed to be having lately. He wasn't unlucky, he didn't get pooped on by passing birds, trip on an invisible rock or get mobbed by fan girls (every male's dream was obsolete to Sasuke).

Everyday was haunting. He tried his best to ignore everything and pretend like everything was alright, but it never was. Not since Naruto died. Naruto's death had came to the village and passed through just as easily. His shrine was kept clean and tidy, and the amount of visitors steadily decreased day by day. Sasuke saw it everyday, but didn't stick around for long. It changed his mood too much.

After the terrible day of boring missions, Sasuke went home. He sat down at his desk and wrote up reports. A knock at the door interrupted his writing. He answered it and found Sakura standing there, looking normal, but her eyes were different. She had changed, as well as Sasuke. Her eyes didn't hold the same excitement they had before.

"Sakura."

He let her in, wondering why she was there. After a few years, Sakura had given up on her obsession with him. She realized he wasn't into her like that… though they remained friends.

"I'm going to get straight to the point here—Sasuke, are you alright?" Sakura stared at him, a worry clinging to her eyes.

Sasuke was surprised. Why was she asking this? Of course he was all right! What was she even talking about? "Of course."

"Sasuke! You act like Naruto hasn't died!" Sasuke flinched at this, "I know you… you're trying so hard to hide it, and I know that the more you hide it, the worse it is!"

It was the truth.

"I don't want you to go through this alone…" Sakura's voice quivered.

"There's nothing wrong." Everything was wrong. But Sasuke wasn't about Sakura know that.

"I know how much it hurts, and you must be feeling worse… but it's not right. I'm not trying to push you, but grieving is part of moving on."

Moving on? Sasuke would never move on. It was Naruto, for Christ sake's! "How could I move on? Just because you're all fine about Naruto dying, it doesn't mean I'm not!"

A tingeing sensation burned Sasuke's cheek. Sakura stood in front of him, eyes puffy, nose and eyes red from crying and a furious expression on her face. She had slapped him. This only pissed Sasuke off even more. "Of course I'm not fine with him dying! I cared for him just as much as y—"

Sakura was pushed back with a forceful hand. "You never could have cared as much. You always rejected him."

Sakura went silent and Sasuke watched as her eyes began to fill with tears. He didn't feel bad. Much. He was mad. All those years Naruto begged for her attention, and she never gave it to him,she pushed him aside instead and chased after Sasuke. Sure, Naruto and Sakura had gotten closer while he had been gone, they were best friends, but Sasuke would always be close to Naruto.

Sakura stepped outside of his house and he sat down on his couch, unexpectedly drained. He could hear Sakura crying outside his door. He heard he footsteps walk off of the porch when she eventually left. A low feeling was stuck at the bottom of Sasuke's stomach. Was it guilt?

He laid down on his lumpy couch. He would have to get a new one. He covered his eyes with his arm and closed his eyes. He saw all black. Actually, he didn't. Have you tried to close your eyes and see if you see anything? You don't necessarily see _nothing._ You see something when you actually try to look.

Wait.

Sasuke abruptly jumped up from the couch, frantically running to his room and opening the his nightstand's drawer. Naruto's note was there, carefully folded. Sasuke almost ripped it in his haste when opening it.

It had been bothering Sasuke for since the day he read it, there was something, something that Sasuke didn't get, in the note. He always had this feeling when he though about it, he knew that Naruto would not say things like that without reason. It wasn't like him to say mysterious things. He couldn't figure it out what it was. But… it was something.

He read the note over again and again, frustrated at finding nothing but confusion. But he had an idea of who could find out. Maybe… no. They weren't exactly close, but this was about Naruto so maybe he would comply.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXx**

A yawn was the response to Sasuke question of, "I need your help."

A boy of 21 years stood in front of Sasuke, his long hair tied in a ponytail that somehow managed to stick up straight, he was dressed in a typical jonin outfit. Shikamaru Nara, as usual, was slouched over and looked extremely bored. "Why would you need my help, Uchiha?"

Shikamaru was honestly surprised that Sasuke Uchiha at his doorstep. Though they had known each other for quite a few years, they hadn't _known _each other. They acknowledged one another, but didn't talk all that much.

"It's about Naruto."

Sasuke watched as Shikamaru's expression changed from it's neutral insipid to curiosity. Sasuke didn't wait for Shikamaru's answer, instead opting to just telling him, "I think… I found Naruto's suicide note."

For the first time ever, Sasuke saw surprise on the jonin's face. Shikamaru stared hard into Sasuke's eyes, looking quite distraught at this newfound discovery, he quickly exclaimed, "When?"

Now it was Sasuke turn to be distraught. He had found it two weeks ago. Sasuke was now beginning to realize just how significant the note was… it was the dobe's last words and he had been hording them for the past two weeks. "Two weeks ago." He now felt very dumb.

"What!" Shikamoaru sort of glared at Sasuke, mad, but wanting to see the note at the same time. He calmed himself down, thinking of the right thing to say, "What do you need my help for? And why are you telling me about this?"

"Read it first… it doesn't make any sense to me."

Shikamaru was confused by Sasuke's words, but nodded nonetheless. Sasuke handed him the note, and watched as he read Naruto's words. Shikamaru was completely concentrated on the letter, and Sasuke could tell he was reading it more than once.

"There's… hints. " Sasuke frowned. Hints?

"What kind?"

"I don't know. I need to think. Can I borrow this for a day or two? There's… something."

So Shikamaru didn't get it either. Sasuke was beginning to wonder if there was anything at all. The brunette was apparently a genius, so Sasuke would take his word.

Shikamaru was exhausted. He sat on his butt all night, but he was still exhausted. It was 5:00 AM. All because of one tiny piece of paper.

_I was a monster. The only thing I could do is run away. Sorry I'm in the clouds now. For a long time I've been thinking of something. A plan. Keeping quiet all this time. Ending this for the last time._

Shikamaru read those words, over and over, trying to decipher the meaning. Naruto wasn't a monster. He knew why the village shunned him when they were younger. The blonde boy held the Kyuubi. Naruto honestly couldn't have done this over that, he had friends, friends who would die for him.

He broke down the letter by the sentences. Each one had a meaning. Clouds obviously meant heaven. Thinking about a plan. His suicide? The last sentence made sense in a way. Ending it would be… his life. But the words 'the last time' didn't fit in, which gave Shikamaru a whole new head ache each time he read it.

"Troublesome…" Even in death he managed to do this to Shikamaru. It only made him smile, though.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep getting him, but Shikamaru had a whole new prospect of looking at the note after 6 hours. It didn't make much sense, but it was a lead.

Naruto wasn't dead.

That was his first conclusion.

Shikamaru walked haggardly to Sasuke's house, ready to tell him what he thought what the note was about. He got some looks on the way. Shikamaru? Out on a walk? Ha. Impossible. But it might have been because it was so early. 5:00AM and the street vendors were just setting up.

Finding Sasuke was more important though. He didn't know how he'd react to his news, he just hoped he wouldn't overreact.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXx**

A loud knock woke Sasuke up from a fitful sleep. It pissed him off when he saw that it was still dark outside, and someone was attempting to talk to him at this hour. He tried to go back to sleep, but the intruder's knocks were consistent, knocking over and over and over again. He got up from bed and walked (stormed) to the door and threw it open, ready to kill them with his glare. Instead he saw Shikamaru, still in mid knock because of how abruptly the door had been open.

Shikamaru pushed Sasuke inside and told him, "I have things to tell you."

Shock.

That's what Sasuke felt. Complete, utter shock. He looked suspiciously at the man in front of him, telling him information that may or may not be true. What if he was lying? But he has no reason to lie.

Maybe Sasuke was just being a little _too _paranoid.

But it couldn't be possible. Naruto was dead. He found him dead, saw his casket be buried six feet under, and was alone for two weeks.

Shikamaru had just told him that Naruto might be alive. "No, it can't be true."

"But it might. You even said yourself, there's something in that note." Said note was placed in the middle of the table between them.

"I know said that but—"

Shikamaru interrupted him mid-sentence, "Look at this Sasuke, and tell me it's a coincidence."

He grabbed a piece of paper off of the table, Sasuke's rent bill, and started scribbling something on it. Shikamaru looked very concentrated and distracted when writing, obviously disturbed by what he had discovered.

"Here," Shikamaru handed him the note and stared at Sasuke expectedly as he began to read it. The noted was written differently.

** I** was a monster.

** T**he only thing I could do is run away.

** S**orry I'm in the clouds now.

** F**or a long time I've been thinking of something.

** A** plan.

** K**eeping quiet all this time.

** E**nding this for the last time.

"How…? It's Fake? I don't…"

"I don't understand it either."

Sasuke stared at the note, speechless. What did Naruto mean by this? His death was fake? Sasuke had never felt this confused or wanted to know more about something than any time in his life.

"But I have an idea," Shikamaru started, noticing Sasuke's distress over this new information. "This is mere assumption—I think Naruto is in Kumogakure."

_Sorry I'm in the clouds now._

In the clouds… Hidden Cloud Village.

"He is planning something… I have a bad feeling about it. Why would Naruto go to such extreme measures, faking his death, only to leave this note behind?"

Exactly what Sasuke was thinking.

"But Sasuke—remember, we could be wrong."

No, it made too much sense to be wrong. "Nara, I highly doubt we are wrong. What else could it mean?"

Shikamaru nodded, indeed, what else could it mean? The thing was—what should they do? They just found out that their very good friend, who previously had been thought dead by suicide, but he faked his own death for unexplainable reasons and was now in a different village.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXx**

"A suicide note."

"Yes."

"A _suicide note."_

They gulped, "Yes."

"You found a suicide note and didn't inform me?" Tsunade pounded her fist on her desk and stared the boys furiously. What idiots! A genius of an IQ of 200 and a prodigy being so inadequate for their level!

"… yes." Sasuke was starting to feel like an idiot.

Tsunade stared at them just to make them feel stupid for a few seconds before barking, "Well, let me see it." She seemed in a particularly bad mood. It wasn't always that Tsunade woke up this early.

Sasuke handed her the original note, and the rage left Tsunade's eyes as she read it. Sadness filled them now. He could tell she didn't understand the note either, and then Shikamaru stepped in, "We came up with something. That note has a hidden message."

He then handed her the same paper he showed to Sasuke. Tsunade was shocked when Sasuke and Shikamaru explained to her about Cloud Village and Naruto's plan, though they had absolutely no details whatsoever. But she believed them. She reacted the same way they had—what should she do now?

"Sasuke…"

Sasuke nodded at her.

"I have a mission for you." The blond-haired Hokage's lips curved upward, forming a small smile.

Shikamaru burst in, "But what about me?" He wanted to help too. Besides, Sasuke would have been a hopeless wreck without him.

Tsunade spoke, "Shikamaru, you have your team to worry about. This is going to be a long mission and we can't have another jonin replace you. No one would want, anyway."

He cursed. "Damn brats…" Shikamaru was the leader of a team of three genins. They were, as Shikamaru would put, 'troublesome'.

"This is an ANBU level mission, Shikamaru. We will keep you posted on details, though. But Sasuke, the mission I have for you right now is to find out if Naruto is really alive or not. We don't have solid evidence yet. So that's what you have to figure out. Good luck, Sasuke."

After speaking a bit more about the mission, Sasuke nodded, and both he and Shikamaru exited the Hokage's office. Tsunade them that it would be a secret mission, she didn't want anyone to have false hope that Naruto may still be alive. It would cause a big commotion, especially if he actually _was _dead. Sasuke would go to Hidden Cloud Village, in the country of Lightning. To get there though, he would have to go through Hidden Village of Sound, and there was some sort of path, but Sasuke didn't know much about the terrain.

Shikamaru headed home, as did Sasuke. He had to prepare. Tsunade told him to go whenever he was ready, but he wanted to leave immediately. So he packed what he usually did, only the necessities, slid his ANBU mask onto his face, and left.

Right when he was about to exit Konoha, he heard a loud yell, "Sasuke!"

He turned. Behind him stood Sakura, looking mad, sad and shocked all at the same time. She had tears in her eyes. So Tsunade had told her. He should have known… he didn't want Sakura to know about it, she could be overdramatic at times. But he knew she was a little obligated to know about Naruto.

"Sasuke… Naruto is…" she breathed deeply, she was out of wind because she felt that she had to catch Sasuke before he left the village, it wasn't to beg him to take her, she just wanted to hear it from Sasuke himself. Naruto was alive?

"That's what we think." Sasuke replied curtly.

A look of relief flushed through her face, "I was so… so happy." So that's why she had been crying.

"We don't know for sure, but that's why I'm leaving to find out. Take care, Sakura." She already knew he was heading to Hidden Cloud.

"Wait—" but he was already gone. Sakura had wanted to warn him about the path to Cloud. A worried expression filled eyes as she saw a barely noticeable black blur glide across the treetops. She could only hope he knew about the path to Cloud.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Other than the fact that it took approximately 5 days to get to Hidden Cloud Village, Sasuke knew next to nothing about where he was going. He had a simple map, but it didn't show much. Sasuke was smart enough to know that no road was completely safe, though.

Getting out of the Land of Fire was simple, but it took 1 day to travel across the country. The thing was—Sound Village wasn't too friendly with Sasuke, or should we say most of the Rookie Nine, after what happened to 3 of their ninjas at the chuunin exams when they were younger. Their grudge made it tough for Leaf ninjas to get past their village to Lightning country, but this was something Sasuke had to do.

He couldn't just walk in and out of the village, just like someone couldn't do when getting past Konoha. If Sasuke could, he would avoid Sound completely and go around, but mountains that would take days to get past blocked him. The village was built right in between the mountains, so it was more of a passageway, like it made that way purposely.

Sasuke sat atop a tree, scanning the village. They had high gates, and guards everywhere. They had look out towers every few yards, all around the village. This would be tough. He used a transformation technique and turned into a man he had to knock out on his way to the village. The man was relatively ordinary looking, and Sasuke didn't think his appearance would cause any suspicion.

Or so he thought.

He was greeted at the gates with the words, "Welcome back Hiari-sama!" Sasuke mentally gulped, knowing he had chosen the wrong person to imitate. He smiled at them nonetheless, since they genuinely seemed pleased to see him.

Sasuke though he could just bypass everyone, but was suddenly bombarded with 3 burly ninjas. They bowed, "To the palace, Hiari-sama?"

It would be suspicious to say no. So he complied. Normally, he would just use his sharingan on them and make them do what he said, but they were in a public place. He couldn't risk getting caught. You see, he was something of a fugitive. They blamed Sasuke a lot of the time for the genins death, even though it was Orochimaru's doing.

The palace that Sasuke was lead to rivaled the Uchiha compound. It was large, and could fit a great number of people. He took a risk and asked, "Where is the head of the compound?"

Confused glances were put on him. They answered anyways, "Your brother can be found in his study, Hiari-sama."

Sasuke had no idea where that was. So he asked one of the guards to stay behind. He used his sharingan on him and he took him to the study. Sasuke wondered if he was extending his stay too long. But something told him he had to go there.

He entered a room filled with books at all walls. They covered them and were lined up perfectly. Sasuke wouldn't have been surprised if they were in perfect chronological order either. There was a desk, and a man sitting there. He looked very similar to this so-called Hiari. The man looked up and smiled, "Hiari. Come sit. Yamada-san, you may leave." Hikari nodded at the guard and he left.

Sasuke felt no other option than to sit down. So he did. They sat in silence for a few seconds. The man spoke in calm, quiet words, "So, where is my brother?"

Usually, people wouldn't see through his jutsus, but he could understand. He knew that this man knew he wasn't his brother the moment he walked into the room. Maybe even before that. Sasuke dropped the disguise. It was rendered useless.

"An Uchiha? You must be Uchiha Sasuke. It's an honor."

Sasuke was a little surprised. He thought he would be chased out of the village or something like that. "Thank you sir."

"What business do you have in my village?"

So he was the lord… maybe getting out wouldn't be too difficult if Sasuke didn't screw things up with this guy. "I'm on my way to the Land of Lightning."

The man nodded, "I see… and why was the disguise necessary?"

"You should know very well that I am hated by this village."

"Ahh. Where is my brother then?" There was a threat hidden behind his kind voice.

Sasuke blinked, "Oh he's fine, hell be up any—" something caught Sasuke's eye. Was that?

"Is that… who is that statue of?" Sasuke asked suddenly. Behind the man was a shelf that wasn't piled with books. There were statues and things that looked like mementos or souvenirs.

Hiari turned around to see what Sasuke was looking at. He had a pretty good guess of what he was asking about though. "The one of the Leaf nin?"

"Yes."

"That would be Naruto Uzumaki… your team mate, right?"

Sasuke nodded, "Was."

The man raised his eyebrows, "Was? I was under the impression that you two were—"

"We… were."

"I see… he is a great man. He saved my son from bandits. My son worships him so we had someone make that for us. Naruto would never let me repay my debt to him, though." He chuckled, but Sasuke stared oddly at him. Sasuke noticed the lack of past tense in his words. He didn't hear of Naruto's death?

Sasuke stiffened, "Indeed. When was the last time you saw Naruto?"

Hiari scratched his chin, "Hmm… I would say about two or three weeks ago? Shame he was just passing through."

His heart started to beat faster, feeling hope he had wanted to suppress. "Did he say where he was heading?"

"Yes, he did. He said he was heading to Cloud Village. He seemed a bit down though. Isn't it a bit unusual for him?"

Sasuke, calm down, this man could easily be mistaken… he said two or _three _weeks ago. This did not mean that Naruto was still alive. It didn't. Sasuke was trying to reassure himself in his head.

The man in front of him abruptly exclaimed, "Oh yes! Naruto told me to give you something when you'd arrive here!"

What? What? What! Sasuke was going crazy. Taking all of this in was starting to get hard. Hiari was rifling through his many drawers while Sasuke kept fidgeting. What would the note say? Would it tell him what do to? Where to go? Where Naruto was and why he did what he did?

All the while, Hiari already was extending his arm to Sasuke, and watched in amusement. A flustered Uchiha was an odd things. He nudged Sasuke hand and Sasuke was brought back to the situation.

Sasuke all but grabbed the note and opened it hesitantly, not sure of what to expect. In a messy scrawl that was undoubtedly Naruto's was one word that made Sasuke's mouth drop is disbelief:

_Teme._

* * *

Thanks: **kittykatsaymeow, cloudroud1988, DanteUesugi, , ninetailedfoxdemon88, serenityofthematrix, Suave Jiraiya, xXIara-ChanXx, Karina-chan, Sexy Kurenai, Mademoiselle Blanchezy, na, **and **BloodMoon93** for reviewing the first two chapters. I hope you're still read, even though it's taken forever to update. I really want to update more often now (:

Friendship was majority. Still deciding though. But in the mean time, there could be hints of shonen-ai and there may not be. It doesn't have to be yaoi... but I like Sasuke and Naruto together.

What did you think of the chapter?


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